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Book Buzz: Spirit Trackers a great ghost story for older readers

The Spirit Trackers by Jan Bourdeau Waboose, Illus. by Francois Thisdale, Markham, Ont., Fifth House, $18.95 In the Anishinaabe belief system, the Wendigo is a mysterious spirit which inhabits the northern woods.
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The Spirit Trackers by Jan Bourdeau Waboose, Illus. by Francois Thisdale, Markham, Ont., Fifth House, $18.95

In the Anishinaabe belief system, the Wendigo is a mysterious spirit which inhabits the northern woods.

The information provided in the appendix to this picture book describes it as a giant that can transform itself into human or animal shape. It can walk on the wind and preys on people who are lost in the forest wilderness.

The myth of the Wendigo was used to keep children from wandering into the woods and getting lost (much like the Wild Woman of the Woods here on the West Coast). 

In The Spirit Trackers, Uncle Will, an accomplished Anishinaabe tracker of the Moose clan, tells his nephews the tale of the Wendigo one winter evening and warns them of the dangers involved in becoming trackers themselves.

“Watch out for the Wendigo on a winter night. It has a heart of ice and its teeth are like steel.”

Not surprisingly, the two boys are frightened by the story and their fear intensifies later when they are tucked into their bed. They hear a loud sound and see a strange shadow pass by their bedroom window in the middle  of the night.

In the morning they venture outside and spot a tree stripped of its bark and tracks in the snow which they decide to follow despite their qualms.

They know that is what real trackers would do and curiosity outweighs trepidation.

Their search through the snowy woods reveals the source of the haunting cries they had heard in the night and reassures them that reality is often less frightening than fears fuelled by active imaginations.

When Uncle comes to escort them home they inform him that they now have a Wendigo tale to tell him.

The author is First Nations Anishinaabe of the Ojibway Bear Clan and is well-known  for her previous award-winning books including  SkySisters and Morning on the Lake. 

The Spirit Trackers is also  beautifully illustrated by an artist whose 30-year career has brought him many awards.

Thisdale’s atmospheric paintings of the Canadian woods are a blend of drawing, photography and digital imagery set on wintry pastel colours. Soft, misty backgrounds enhance the mysterious quality of the woodland setting. 

Endpapers show tracks of various animals the children might encounter while tracking. A wonderful Canadian ghost story for older picture book readers.

 

Fran Ashdown was the children’s librarian at Capilano  library in Edgemont Village. She loves looking at her backyard trees on a winter night.